J.K. Rowling to make screenwriting debut with Potter-related film

Bestselling author J.K. Rowling is to get her first screenwriting credit working on a new series of films based on the world of the Harry Potter books. Warner Bros. announced the partnership Thursday.

The first film, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” will be based on a textbook of that name from the fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the adventures of Newt Scamander, the texbook's author.

In a statement, Rowling said she decided join the project, and so return to the wizard-world, because of her affection for the character Scamander.

“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years,” Rowling said, “'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.”

Warner Bros. hasn't provided a release date for the movie, but said that “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is also to be made into a video game.